Gamers
by roflbacon
Summary: Based off of Re:Birth - The Lunatic Taker by Im Dal Young but, with my own characters and happenings. Read and Reviews are truly appreciated. n.n
1. Chapter 1: Welcome to Darkness

"Another one, huh? What is going on with this town?" Questioned a young man with black, wavy hair, his green eyes focusing on the computer monitor before him. On the screen was a news article the was dated today, a picture of a young man with headlines "Parents say 'He didn't tell us where he was going or that he had any grievances for staying here. If he sees this, we only wish for him to come back home.'" The young man stared at the article, wrapping his arms across his chest "Just getting up and leaving, just like the other reports... who just gets up and leaves without telling anybody?" As he questions this to himself, slender hands, one which wore a rather expensive-looking bracelet, reached from behind, and enveloped in front of his eyes "Looking into those disappearances again? Man, you are a boring guy, no wonder you don't have a girlfriend!" came the voice of a young female, giggling as she leaned over and looked at the screen "Oh, this is today's newspaper... another one going missing. The more you look into stuff like this, it's very likely that you will end up disappearing as well, right?" The boy sighed, reaching up and pulling the girl's hands out of the way "Yeah, right. You just watch too many movies, Sarah. And why do you wear that bracelet everyday? It's so tacky..."

Sarah smiled, shrugging a bit "It is, right? Wearing such nice jewelry while wearing something so simple as this school uniform. I don't know but, I just can't help it." She glanced down at herself with her blue eyes, her red hair tied to two long, pony tails that drapped down each side of her head. The uniform she spoke of was a tight-fitting white collare shirt that buttoned from her belly up to her upper chest with a black tie fixed in front of it. The plaid skirt she wore was close to explicitly short but, still managed to be acceptable, her legs covered in thigh-high white socks with the top trimming of it being black and black loafer shoes. The boy sighed, closing the web browser and turned to her "Everyone has a choice, right? Well, I guess you choose to wear it so, whatever..." He stood up from the chair and stretched, his uniform consisting of the collared shirt and tie as well but, he wore black pants. Sarah giggled, looking him over a bit "Say, Makoto. I know it's only been only been a few months since you transfered from Japan but, have you heard of any strange rumors?" The boy, called Makoto, looked to Sarah "Aside from the fact that American women are hotter and crazier, no."

Sarah giggled some, looking over to the bracelet around her hand "Well, maybe I shouldn't tell you about this. It's hard enough having to hear about it when you have to worry about those missing people reports." Makoto yawned, hoisting his backpack over his shoulder "It's a little bit late for that now, isn't it? Spill it, now that you've got me interested." Sarah sighed, giggling a bit and shrugged "Ah, the slip of my tongue, it can't be helped then." She looked Makoto in the eyes "Have you ever looked to the floor and found a really expensive piece of jewelry laying in front of your feet?" Makoto blinked a bit and snickered a bit "Ha ha, like I would have such good luck. Why do you ask?" Sarah smiled at him, turning away "Oh, I see. Well, in case that ever happens to you, don't pick it up." Makoto tilted his head a bit, knowing she left some important information out "... And why shouldn't I pick it up?" Sarah turned around, a big smile plastered on her face "Rumor has it, the person who picks it up will come to meet an unfortunate fate... and die!" Makoto flinched a bit, looking the girl in the eyes "Please don't have such a smile when talking about such things. And this rumor of yours is just corny, like hell something like that would happen."

Sarah giggled "As expected of you, Makoto. Thinking logically before letting some random rumors into your head. But, still, just like those random disappearances, not everything could be logically explained." Makoto stared at her, shaking his head "I refuse to believe that, Sarah. Everything that happens in this world, happens for a reason. We just have to find out what that reason is..." Sarah nodded to him "Very well, Detective. Just don't pick up any stray jewelry lying on the floor, no matter how shiny it is, okay?"

Sarah turned to leave, only to bump into a chubby male, who was walking inside "Eek!" The chubby boy backed up a bit, looking to her with brown eyes through glasses, a few strands of his long, black hair swayed over his face "Eh? Sarah? In the library? So rare..." Sarah shook her head "Hmph, only reason I was here was to talk to Makoto." The chubby boy looked to Makoto and back to Sarah "Eh? Well, if you wanted to talk to someone, you could of came and talked to me." Sarah giggled, stepping past him "Hee hee, no way, Gin. I'd be afraid you would try to molest me if it was just the two of us... well, I'm going now, bye bye!" As she walked off, Gin turned and watched her "What was that all about? Saying such things out loud..." He turned and looked to Makoto "So, what was it that she had to talk to you about?" Makoto slipped his backpack on, walking up to Gin "Nothing important. Let's go home."

Twenty minutes passed, Makoto waved to Gin and Gin doing the same as they headed seperate ways. Makoto walked down a shopping strip, comprised mostly of fashion design shops that is mostly populated with women. Then, he stopped, as he heard the sound of metal grinding against pavement. Makoto lowered his head and glanced down, seeing that he was kicking something that looked like a necklace. "... Did someone drop this?" Makoto blinked and kneeled down, reaching down for it with his right hand. As he was about that, it was then he remembered something Sarah said. _"Have you ever looked to the floor and found a really expensive piece of jewelry laying in front of your feet? In case that ever happens to you, don't pick it up. The person who picks it up will come to meet an unfortunate fate... and die!"_ As Makoto remembered this, he shook his head and muttered "... How stupid..." He reached down and picked it up, He held the necklace over his face and looked at it. The charm that hung from it was a gothic cross with the engraved letters "Thy Debt Undone". He looked at it curiously "... This doesn't look like a female's necklace. Maybe I should leave it at a shop, someone will most likely come look for it..."

It was then, he heard the shouts of a woman as she ran past him "Mikey, wait! Please stop!" Makoto glanced at the woman and over more, seeing a young boy who couldn't be any older than four years old was running towards the crosswalk, with incoming traffic driving through. Makoto stuffed the necklace into his pocket and without a second thought, he took off after the kid as fast as he can. As Makoto got there, he gasped, seeing the child was only a few steps from the street. He rushed over, grabbing the kid around the waist when, a load beep sounded off to the left of him. Makoto quickly lifted the kid off the street and spun out of the way as the car drove past them. He placed the kid down and sighed in relief as he saw the mother running towards them "Mikey, don't scare your mother like that again!" She looked to Makoto and smiled "Thank you very much! Thank you!"

Makoto smiled and waved her off as he went back to go to one of the shops "Now, to drop this necklace off..." Makoto told himself, not seeing the van that lost control drove right at him. The squeal of tires and the sound of a loud crash caused people to rush out from the stores. The scene was horrific, the driver in the car being injured, while Makoto's body laid on the sidewalk, coughing up blood. Makoto heard screams of people, someone shouting out to call for the ambulance. But, even that started to muffle and his body started to feel cold. His breathing got harder as the last thoughts ran through his fading conciousness.

_"... How can this be? Sister... Gin... everyone... I'm sorry..."_

_"... sorry... ..."_

Chapter 1: Welcome to Darkness

As his eyes opened, he only saw what he had been seeing with his eyes not being open. Darkness. He tried to raised his hand to his face and he still could not see it. He blinked, noticing that he wasn't breathing, placing his hand over his chest and tried but, he couldn't. "W-where am I?" He asked in a raspy voice that lacked oxygen, to no one in particular, like he asked himself. Still, he saw nothing but, darkness. "I-Is this heaven or hell?"

**DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?**

The loud, strong voice seemed to come from nowhere. He glanced around to see where it originated from. He saw nothing at all, he was totally unaware of time and direction. "Wh-who are you?" He tried once more, his voice still being weak without oxygen filling his lungs.

**DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?**

The voice didn't answer his question, only seeking an answer for it's own. Makoto nodded his "Y-Yes, I do..."

**SIGN A PACT WITH ME AND YOU SHALL BE ALIVE ONCE MORE.**

What did he have to lose? His soul, maybe? Or would he rather risk it and get out of this, darkness. "A-Anything... just g-get me out of this place."

**AGREED.**

In an instant, his eyes opened up into the brightness of the sun the filled his bedroom and oxygen once again filled his lungs. He gasped heavily, looking around to realize his recognizable location "... This is, my room?" He sat himself up and blinked, remembering what had happened to him before, only to realize he felt no pain "... Was it all a dream?" As he stood himself up, her heard the sound of small metals clanging into one another. He glanced down, seeing that around his neck was the necklace he had found on the street. "... I slept with this thing on?" He questioned himself as he took it off and rested it on his drawer. He looked over to his clock and blinked, seeing the time and date "... Only one day passed since that..." Makoto blinked "Crap! I have to get ready for school!" He quickly pulled his shirt off and reached down to undo his pj bottoms when, he stopped, seeing something strange in the corner of his eye. He stood back up and stared himself in the mirror, staring right on his chest. And there was a tattoo-like marking on his chest which said "Gamer" and had the numerical form of ten below it. He looked at this oddly "... Gamer?"

Minutes later, Makoto was dressed into his uniform, looking down at the necklace that laid on his dresser. _"The person who picks it up will come to meet an unfortunate fate... and die!"_ Upon remembering her voice, he shook his head "... It was just a dream, I bet. Stupid Sarah... I can't quite explain this tattoo, though..." He picked up his backpack and was about to step out from his room when, his whole body just froze in place _"Wh-what the hell was that? That feeling..."_ Makoto thought as he tried to move some more and blinked, seeing he couldn't move. He turned around, glancing over at the dresser, where that necklace was _"... It's like, I want to take it with me. No, like I HAVE to take it with me..."_ He stepped back to the dresser and grabbed the necklace, unhooking the chain, and placed it around his neck. He slips the charm under the collar of his shirt and went to exit the room, this time with no problems.

As he stepped down the stairs, he blinked and saw his mom out there, fixing eggs, sausage, and pancakes for breakfast. "Ah, Makoto! Right on time, it's time to eat!" Makoto walked over towards the kitchen, his younger sister looking up to him and smiling "Good morning, brother!" Makoto looked to his sister and nodded "M-Morning..." He turned back to his mother, who raised a dish with the food on his plate "Say, Mom... did anything weird happen yesterday?" His mom blinked and looked to him "Huh? Nothing out of the ordinary. You came home, did your homework, had dinner and talked about the day, played games and watch anime, and sleep... like you normally do." Makoto blinked a bit and nodded "I-I see... so, I didn't happen to run out and um... get a tattoo?" Makoto's mom blinked and looked to him "I would hope not... you remember what I told you about stuff like that. Tattoos get all distorted and ugly as you get older." Makoto nodded, placing his plate down "I know, I know but, hear me out." Makoto opened up his shirt a bit and showed the tattoo that marked his chest "See? I'm trying to figure out how I got this." His mother looked where he was pointing and blinked "Umm... get what? All I see is your scrawny, little chest." Makoto blinked a bit "... You don't see it? It's a tattoo that says 'Gamer' with a '10' under it." His mom looked again and shook his head "Are you sure you're awake? Because, I don't see a thing." Makoto blinked and glanced down himself, and there the tattoo remained _"... What the hell is this supposed to mean? Why can't she see it?"_

At school, Makoto was sitting in class, taking down notes as the teacher lectured the class. But, as he was doing so,his necklace was dangling out and his other hand touched it, feeling all the texture and design of it. _"No mistake... it feels like another piece of jewelry... but, what's the significance about it? Why couldn't I leave it home? Why couldn't Mom see my tattoo?"_ As he thought this, he jumped as he heard a voice "Yo, Makoto! Whatcha doing with that charm? You're fondling it like a woman's tit." Makoto glanced up, seeing the silly grin on Gin's face "Ah, nothing. I'm just wondering..." Gin sat back onto a desk, which must of been his own "Oh? Wondering what?" Makoto shook his head "... I have a hard time explaining... I don't even know how to word it." Suddenly, slender hands fitted right over his eyes "Makoto! Could I borrow you for the next class?" Makoto blinked a bit, taking her hands off his eyes. "Sarah? We can't though... we still have fourth period." Sarah smiled "You worry too much, Makoto. Skipping one day won't KILL you..." Makoto blinked at how she added emphasis on the word "kill". Makoto looked back to Sarah "O-Okay, okay. I'll go." Sarah smiled brightly "Great! Let's go now! See you later, Gin." Sarah ran, pulling Makoto along with her. Makoto blinked and called out "W-wait, Sarah! I could walk on my own!"

Sarah ran all the way up to the rooftop, finally releasing Makoto as they got there. Makoto huffed a bit, trying to catch his breath "Sheesh, you didn't have to pull me like that, I was going to come with you." Sarah stayed standing there, glancing out to the scenery of the town before her "... It wasn't a dream, Makoto. If that is what you thought." Makoto blinked a bit, looking at Sarah "What are you talking about, Sarah?" Sarah turned back, the ever so bubbly smile on her face "Yesterday... you really did die." Makoto gasped a bit, looking into her eyes "H-How do you knew these things? My own mother said that nothing odd happened." Sarah giggled, rather darkly "She wouldn't of noticed. Neither would Gin or anyone of them. But now, you're quite like me, right?" She reached over to unbutton her top and opened it, and there was a "Gamer" tattoo but, the number was quite different, and larger, being the numerical number of "two hundred fourteen". Makoto blinked a bit "Th-that tattoo and that number... what does it all mean?" Sarah smiled "What does it matter to you? You're going to be dead again, anyway..."

Makoto's eyes widened as he looked at this girl, Sarah, who he considered as a friend "W-what did you just say?" Sarah smiled and held her arm up as the bracelet started to grow "Hee hee... Makoto, are you stupid or something? I said it in plain english, didn't I?" A dust cloud kicked up as wind seemed to blow from the bracelet that Sarah wore. Makoto raised his arm, trying to block the sand from his eyes, only for it to suddenly stop. Makoto opened his eyes as the dust started to settle, his eyes opening wide as his body shook in fear "W-what?" Sarah stood there, the bracelet being absent from her wrist. In exchange, Sarah was holding two oversized cleavers, both in each of her hands "So, I'll say it again... please try to grasp it this time? I. Will. Kill. You!" She said it in a cute, twisted way. She came running at him, giggling psychotically, as she jumped and swung one of her huge cleavers at him.

Chapter 1: END


	2. Chapter 2: Welcome to Violence

Makoto stood there, his thoughts scattered, his eyes widened from the shocking words he heard out of his friend's lips "... W-what are you saying?" Sarah smiled, laughing at the expression on his face "Hee hee... Makoto, are you stupid or something? I said it in plain english, didn't I?" Her bracelet, the one she wore all the time and didn't quite match with everything else, started to glow and a wind pressure kicked up dust all around them. Makoto shielded his eyes as it swept over him "Ughn..." The wind was beating at his body, making his tie flutter about. Makoto braced on his feet to keep from falling over, just as the wind suddenly died down. Makoto opened his eyes and gasped, his face going pale and his eyes looking as though they'd pop out from their sockets "... W-what?" A wicked grin was displayed on Sarah's face, holding what looked to be two massive cleavers, the bracelet she once wore was gone. "So, I'll say it again... please try to grasp it this time? I. Will. Kill. You!"

Chapter 2: Welcome to Violence

Makoto, though shakey, saw Sarah running at him with her obviously sharp blades and dove right out of the way, his body hitting the hold concrete, feeling bits of rubble hitting him in the back "Sh-She wasn't joking..." Makoto turned, his eyes focused on the pink haired girl, who was retrieving one of her blades from the floor. "Geez, why did you have to move? I could of finished you off with little to no pain." Makoto pushed himself up from the floor "A-Are you fucking kidding me? Stop this! W-We were friends, weren't we?" Makoto stumbled back and leaned against the gated fence, watching Sarah as she faced him once more. Sarah laughed a bit, her laughter holding no sense of sanity whatsoever "What are you talking about? I'm doing something a friend, in my situation, could do. To remove you from this tragic world we live in! Ha ha ha...!" Sarah stepped closer to him, being more slow and decisive with her steps. Makoto gasped, seeing he was practically cornered. He closed his eyes as his muddled thoughts went to one thought _"Why is this happening? Ever since yesterday, everything has become so weird. The tattoo no one could see. Sarah, someone I thought of as a friend, trying to kill me. Why is this happening?"_

**FIGHT!**

Makoto gasped, his eyes opened wide and he looked around _"That voice... I recognize it somehow... but, from where?"_ Makoto looked around to see if there was anyone else around, he saw no one but, Sarah _"... Am I just imagining it?"_

**YOU CARRY THE NECKLACE THAT HOUSES OUR CONTRACT. CALLING UPON IT WILL DRAW OUT MY POWER TO AID YOU.**

Makoto blinked, hearing the voice and felt some weight on his neck. He glanced down and noticed the necklace he wore lifted from his chest and shook. "Huh?" Makoto couldn't help to reach over and grab the necklace by the charm. Then the necklace flashed brightly, making Makoto close his eyes "Argh!" Sarah blinked and stepped back, cursing a bit as wind kicked up more dust from the ground "Tch... I was hoping to finish you off before you could draw THAT out." Makoto slowly opened his eyes, seeing he was no longer holding onto his necklace but, what looks like a bladed pole. Despite it's look, Makoto didn't seem to have a hard time holding this weapon "... How did I?" Sarah giggled "... A Halberd is your weapon, eh? Well, whatever, I'll just kill you while you still have that dumb look on your face!" Sarah charged at him again, swinging her blades wildly at him. Makoto blinked and used the halberd to deflect her frenzied attacks, seeing that the blades of her cleavers couldn't cut through the staff portion of his halberd. Both of their weapons met dead on and Makoto looked to Sarah "S-Sarah... why are you doing this?" Sarah smiled, looking Makoto in the eyes "Man, you really don't know anything, do you? Fine, if you could defeat me, I'll tell you everything I know. I mean, what's the point of telling you something if I could kill you here!" Sarah jumped a bit and raised her knee, striking Makoto right underneath the chin.

Makoto stumbled backward, flinching a bit from the blow. Sarah smiled as she followed, swinging her butcher knives for Makoto's neck "There!" Makoto instinctively ducked underneath her swung blades and pushed the blunt side of his halberd into Sarah's stomach. Sarah blinked and doubled over, letting out a painful squeal. Makoto took this chance to rush her to the ground, knocking one of her butcher knives out from her hand. Makoto stood over her, the blade of his halberd pressed against her neck. Sarah flinched a bit and laughed "Heh, I was a bit in a rush. Aren't you going to finish me off, Makoto-kun?" Makoto stood there, his body shaking a bit, tears running down his eyes "Like hell I'd be able to do anything like that, idiot! J-Just stop this, already! You said you would explain some things to me if I defeat you..." Sarah closes her eyes "Hmm, I did say that... very well. You and I, as you can tell, aren't what we used to be. For one thing, our weapons which are drawn out from our jewelry. Second, our life spans that are marked on our chests." Makoto blinked a bit "L-Life spans?" Sarah nodded and pointed to herself "You saw it, right? On my chest, the number two hundred fourteen? That means, I have 214 days to live. So that means, you, who have just revived today, have only ten days left to live!"

Makoto gasped at this revelation, glancing down at his chest "N-No way... o-only ten days?" Sarah smiled a bit, looking him in the eyes "Of course, there is a way to get more time but, a stupid boy like you wouldn't accept it." Makoto looked Sarah in the eyes "... P-Please tell me... how do I increase my time?" Sarah giggled, shaking her head "Well, let's take this for example. If you were to kill me here, and place your hand over my tattoo, you will take the life span I had left over. Meaning, you will be adding two hundred fourteen days to your time, making it two hundred twenty-four days. This is the only way you could replenish and add more days to your life! Could you accept such a life, Makoto-kun? Ha ha ha!" Makoto gasped and shook his head "N-No way... isn't that murder? I won't accept such a thing!" Sarah smiled, seeing Makoto was distracted. She raised her leg, swinging her foot upward, kicking Makoto in the face "This is why, I'm doing you a favor, as a friend!" As Makoto stumbled back, Sarah swung her arm with the single butcher knife she held, slashing across Makoto's chest "That is why, I will kill you now. You're just too damn weak to fit into a world like this!" Makoto gasped, seeing his own blood erupt from the wound from his chest, he glanced down at the wound and cried out in pain "Ughn... l-looks like you did what you wanted..." Sarah giggled, stepping over towards him and stomped down on his chest "Silly Makoto... something like this won't kill you; you're not human anymore, remember? Something like this will just heal up with our natural regeneration capabilities. No, what I must do is cut that pretty little head of yours off your shoulders!"

Makoto simply blinked, grabbing at Sarah's leg in an attempt to shove her off. Sarah only leaned down more, adding weight to her leg "Sure, I could hack and slash you over and over again with human-killing blows to diminish your life span to zero but, I gain nothing from that. But, if I cut your head off or destroy your heart, you will die instantly and I'll be able to take your life span without it diminishing. Well, enough explanations!" She pulled her arm back, holding her cleaver in the air, just as the loud sound of the metal door which lead to the stairway close and the sounds of running footsteps running their direction "What the hell are you doing?" Makoto blinked and looked over, seeing his friend Gin dive over him, tackling Sarah to the floor. Makoto blinked and stood himself up with the help of his halberd, glancing over at Gin and Sarah, Gin pinning her arms down to the floor "Gin! Get away from her, she's not in her right mind!" Gin blinked and looked over to Makoto "I-I don't understand any of this at all... why are my friends fighting each other? Explain it to me, Makoto, Sarah..." Sarah giggled, looking up to Gin "This is none of your business, fat ass. Get off of me!" She shouted as she raised her leg, pushing her shoe into Gin's stomach. Gin fell backward and onto his back as Sarah stood up "Huh... I wasn't expecting there would be any witnesses..." She scoffed, raising her foot up and stomping down in between the legs of Gin. Gin coughed and groaned, grabbing for her leg. Sarah smiled, seeming to like the discomfort she was causing him "Well, I didn't like you anyway, Gin. You're such a pervert, a loser. I think I'll do this school a favor by killing you!"

Sarah smirked and grinded her heel into Gin, laughing a bit "Ha ha... eh?" Sarah caught a glimpse of a sharp blade coming at her left side, causing her to duck and roll out of the way. As she stood to her feet, she blinked and brushed her hand against her cheek "Ughn... the hell?" She glanced down and gasped, seeing there was blood staining her hand "B-Bastard...!" Makoto stood with an experience staff-weilder's stance, the blade of his staff still held out before him. He slowly returned to a neutral position, staring at Sarah "... This changes things. I can't even imagine fighting for my own personal gain. But, when you threaten my friends, especially one whose got nothing to do with any of this... I will not forgive you for putting my friend's life in danger!" Sarah gritted her teeth and glanced back, seeing the butcher knife she had dropped earlier. She picked it up, once again armed with dual blades "And I won't forgive you... for scratching my face!" She charged at him, with both blades ready. Makoto looked more focused and calm as he charged as well, knowing that he was no longer fighting just for himself. Gin sat himself up and watched as Makoto and Sarah clashed with their blades, trading offensive and defensive moves. But, Makoto's focused and poised movements got past Sarah's wild movements, swinging his halberd up and slashing Sarah across her chest. Sarah cried out and stumbled backward, slipping her right arm in front of herself "Ugh... damn it, to think you'd adapt some quickly..." Makoto gritted his teeth and shouted "And that's something to be proud of? This is absolutely nonsense! Don't think I am wanting any of this..."

Sarah blinked and looked to Makoto, her face twisting into a psychotic snicker and laugh "Ah ha ha ha! Don't be so selfish, Makoto. Whether you like it or not, this will be your life from now on. There will be others, more stronger than myself, who will hunt you down like a dog." She suddenly bent down and hoisted herself into the air, a jump that was no where near to being natural. She landed on the roof that housed the stairway "I underestimated you today but, don't think it'll happen again..." Sarah smiled down at Makoto before jumping off and over the gate. Makoto rushed over towards the gate, seeing the girl landing on her feet from four stories high and took off running "The hell? To jump like that and run off, what the hell is she?" Makoto blinked as he heard Gin groan and stand up to his feet. Makoto turned and ran over to Gin "Gin, are you alright?" Gin looked to Makoto and smiled "Yeah but, I really think I've forfeited my chances of having children this time..." Makoto blinked a bit "This time? I thought you lost that priviledge a few years back. There's always adoption." Gin sighed and shook his head "Yeah, yeah... what about you? Your shirts all cut up and bloody. Want me to call for help or what?" Makoto blinked and looked down, seeing where Sarah had slashed him "... Yeah, looks pretty bad, doesn't it?" Makoto pulled the two sides apart and peered inside to see how bad the cut was, only to make Makoto twitch in shock. Turns out, the only evidence that was left of him being cut into was his torn, bloodied shirt. The cut itself, however, was none existant. It was then he remembered what Sarah told him _"Silly Makoto... something like this won't kill you; you're not human anymore, remember? Something like this will just heal up with our natural regeneration capabilities. No, what I must do is cut that pretty little head of yours off your shoulders!"_ Makoto looked away from it, looking to Gin "... Actually, I won't need it after all. But, I would like to be alone for a moment, if you don't mind..."

Gin blinked a bit and nodded "Umm, yeah. Sure... it's lunch time now so, I'll just head over to the library, okay?" Gin waved to Makoto and smiled before turning to head back inside the school. Makoto watched Gin as he was about to disappear behind the door "Gin, thank you... I didn't want to have you get involved but, thank you." Gin stopped, the door leaning against him, leaving a slit of the door open. Gin sighed, looking to the ceiling "It's only natural that I'd step in without second thought. We've been friends for too long to backstab one another. You remember that, okay?" Gin then continued walking, the door closing behind him. Makoto heard the door click, and he suddenly dropped down to his knees. Makoto dropped down to all fours, with the halberd in front of him. The halberd suddenly flashed and took back the form of his necklace, once again dangling from his neck. Makoto breathed heavily as all the information he got during this fight rushed through his mind _"Only ten days left to live... I have to kill others in order to add more time to my lifespan... others will come and hunt me for my life... they want to kill me... I have to kill them to live... Why? Why me?"_ Makoto huffed louder, the thoughts in his mind making him qwueasy. Makoto choked and vomited on the floor in front of him "... Oh..." Then, he heard Sarah's voice once more _"You're just too damn weak to fit into a world like this!"_ Makoto leaned over to the side, curling up into a fetal position, tears flooding from his eyes "... Someone... help me..."

A few miles from the school, Sarah stumbled into a dark, secluded alley, huffing a bit as she leaned back into the wall behind her and slumped down to a sit "Heh... I underestimated him, next time I'll definitely be more serious about it." She reached over to feel her own chest and flinched "Damn.. he managed to cut deeper than I thought. I will definitely make him pay for this..." Sarah tried to relax and slow her breathing, just as a shadow loomed over her. She gasped and looked up, seeing a young girl with long, black hair. She wore a white bandage over her left eye as her right eye was hazel colored. The school uniform she wore was different from Sarah's, consisting of a white blazer with a burgundy outline that went along the whole blazer, with the emblem to the left of her blazer, which states "Saint Beatrice's All-Girl School", a white skirt with two threads of burgundy running around the bottom edge of her skirt, and white thigh high socks and black loafers. Sarah tensed "Shit, to think I'd run into you here..." She reached her right arm, her hand grabbing for her bracelet. But, Sarah was stopped, her arm suddenly being stomped on and pinned to her chest "Kyaa! G-Get off of me, bitch!" The girl stood there silently, the ring on her finger shined brightly and swung it at an incredible speed.

Blood splattered over the girl's white uniform, especially along her wrist, of which she held a short blade. Sarah's head flopped down to the floor before her and rolled off to the side. Sarah's beheaded body sat there, her nerves still twitching involuntarily as blood erupted from her neck. The girl's blade took back it's ring form as she leaned down before the headless body, undoing Sarah's top just enough to expose the tattoo marked on her chest. The girl reached her hand foreward, placing her fingertips onto the tattoo. The number, two hundred fourteen, plummeted in a quick rate, straight down to zero. As if Sarah's body has laid in a furnace for hours on end, her body started to crumble into sand, only to get whisked away by the wind. The girl stood up and saw that even Sarah's head was gone without a trace and the blood that stained her uniform was simply dust that she simply swept off of herself. The girl reached over and started to undo her own blazer and the collared top she wore underneath, seeing that her number was changed to "two hundred fifteen". The girl sighed, a sigh which sounded of relief, as she fixed her shirt and blazer back up before walking out of the alleyway.

Chapter 2: END


	3. Chapter 3: Careless

Makoto sat on a bench with a light post shining down upon him, as he leaned forward, his hands clasped around his head. Just as footsteps were heard, they were loud and they were coming closer and closer. Makoto flinched as he glanced over, Sarah stepping out from the dense darkness, a psychotic grin on her face "Ma-ko-to-kuuuun... please, let me claim your life. Ha ha ha..." Sarah held up her huge butcher knives. Makoto gasped and stood to his feet, stepping back "S-Sarah... please, let's not do this." Makoto grabbed at his necklace's charm, it's form slipping from Makoto's neck and forming into the halberd. Sarah laughs a bit louder "You're such a fool, Makoto. Don't think you could just decide things yourself! Ha ha ha!" Sarah charges towards him. Makoto gasped and held his halberd to block, closing his eyes tightly. He flinched, hearing the sound of a blade running through flesh, yet he felt no pain. As he opened his eyes, he gasped, seeing Sarah's headless body run past him a few steps before collapsing to the floor in a heap of blood. Makoto glanced down before him, and there sat Sarah's head, sitting before him and peering at him with lifeless eyes. "N-NOOOO!" Makoto cried out, his halberd dropping out of his hand.

Tears weld up in Makoto's eyes as he dropped down to his knees before Sarah's head "Ngh... S-Sarah, I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to... w-why didn't you stop?" As Makoto lowered his head, sniffling and letting tears fall to the cement floor, he jumped to the sound of Sarah's giggle. He gasped and slowly glanced up, seeing that Sarah's head was much more lively than it should be, her eyes having a judgmental stare to them "What are you crying about, you damn hypocrite! Murderer... don't you see the blood that stains your hands? AH HA HA HA!" Makoto gasped and glanced down at his hands, seeing there was blood splattered all over them, oozing and dripping off the sides of his hands. "No... I don't want this... I don't want this... I-I want my hands clean!" Makoto huffed a bit as he stood up and glanced around, looking about and saw there was a water faucet nearby. Makoto ran over to the faucet and turned it on, seeing water spouting out of it. Makoto placed his hands into the water and tried to clean his hands. But, no matter how hard he tried, his hands were still covered in blood "I-It won't come off... it won't come off... Damn it...!" Makoto blinked, hearing a strange noise coming from the faucet. He glanced over at it a bit and gasped, seeing that the water was replaced with blood. "Waah?" Makoto gasped as he stumbled back, losing his balance and falling back. But, as he was expecting to fall on solid ground, it was as if Makoto fell through the floor, plunging down into pure darkness "AAAAAAAAHHHH!" Makoto screamed, the scream being heard by no one. Makoto closed his eyes as he muttered "... No more... I've had enough. Just end it already, I give up."

**DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?**

Makoto gasped and opened his eyes, still in darkness but, all he sees is the necklace dangling before him. It glimmered in light, being the only source of light in the darkness.

**DO YOU WANT TO LIVE?**

Makoto huffed and closed his eyes, tears welling up in his eyes again "... Of course, I do... I just didn't want a life like this... this mad, dark world. Why does it even exist? I don't underst-" A crimson, demonic hand with sharp claws reached out from the necklace, it's long digits enveloping around Makoto's neck. Makoto gasped and choked, grabbing at the arm of this hellion as he struggled to breath. He could feel the arm dragging him closer to the necklace.

**VERY WELL, SIGN A PACT WITH ME!**

"HWUAAAAAAH!"

Makoto sat up, gasping heavily, his view blurred by tears. He removed the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand and he glanced about, seeing he was laying in his bed, the sun was slowly rising outside. Makoto huffed as he glanced over to his alarm clock, seeing it was still only two in the morning. Makoto fell back into bed, rolling onto his side. His restless eyes stayed open as he thought _"... Another dream... at this rate, I won't be able to sleep."_ Around his neck, the necklace was still worn. Makoto reached for the cross charm, running his fingers over it as he laid with his eyes wide open.

Chapter 3: Careless

The alarm went off, making Makoto flinch and sigh, _"Finally... the morning sure is slow to pass when you can't sleep..."_ Makoto stood up from the bed and pulled his pajama shirt off in front of the mirror. Being shirtless, Makoto paused in front of the mirror and glanced at his chest. The gamer tag was still there but, the number no longer resembled a "ten" and it was now a "nine". Makoto's whole being quivered as he thought "_S-So, it is true... day by day, this number will lower until there's nothing left..."_ Makoto had to peel himself from the mirror, going back to getting ready for school.

Makoto's walk was slow and lacked energy as he walked on the street, wearing a fresh uniform. Makoto waited at a traffic light, realizing something about the street before him _"Ah... this is where I died a few days ago, which would trigger that mess that happened yesterday."_ Makoto decided not to dwell on it, seeing that the light turned green and he quickly glanced around, making sure that there were no cars planning to speed through the red and continued forward. Makoto walked by some newspaper machines and glanced over at the headline that was held before it, his eyes growing wide as he stopped "What...?" On the newspaper displayed a headline "Another Promising Youth Missing" and the picture was that of a Miss Sarah Connelly, age seventeen "S-Sarah... disappeared?" Makoto pictured Sarah, with her twisted grin _"... But now, you're quite like me, right?"_ Makoto's face lost it's color as he stumbled backward, resting his hand against his chest, right over his tattoo "I-I'm going to disappear, too? Th-that's just... too cruel..." A hand quietly reached over, grabbing Makoto by the shoulder, which made Makoto whole being jolt "HWUAAAAAAHHHH!" Makoto pulled from the hand and fell onto his back, extinctively reaching for the charm on his neck.

Makoto glanced up at the one who had grabbed him, seeing it was his friend, Gin. Makoto blinked and looked around as he heard whispers amongst the people around him, who were all looking at him due to his sudden outburst. He looked back toward Gin, blinking as he saw Gin was closer, holding his hand out to him "You alright there, Makoto? Here, let me help ya up." Makoto took Gin's hand and allowed the help back to his feet "... Thanks, Gin." Gin let go of his hand as soon as Makoto was back on his feet, crossing his arms "... Hm, not to be offensive but, Makoto, you look like hell." Makoto nodded, continuing to walk "You don't have to tell me that, I feel that way, too. I just couldn't get any sleep." Gin snickered, shaking his head "Playing video games all night again?" Makoto glanced away from Gin, staring straight before him "... Something like that..." Makoto and Gin continued walking, heading towards school, walking past a young man in his early twenties with a plain black and white ball cap, blond hair, a black denim jacket with white shirt underneath and black jean pants. He was reading a newspaper but, lowered it, staring at Makoto. The young man's grin went wide "Makoto Maebara... Gamer..." The man raised the newspaper once more, continuing to read. Makoto blinked and turned back, looking toward the man with the newspaper and around, unsure of the tingly feeling he was getting "..." Gin stared at him and complained "Makoto, aren't you listening to me?" Makoto blinked and looked to Gin, smiling "Sorry, sorry..." Makoto just turned back forward, deciding not to worry about it as he listened to Gin talk.

A few hours passed and the students were on break. Makoto was in the library, sitting at a computer. However, instead of looking at newspaper articles, he was on Ding, searching the words "Gamers, Violence, Disappearances, Life Span, Jewelry" and anything else he thought was related to his case. Makoto looked through the different links that game up, mostly talking about things like "Violence in video games plaguing the minds of our children", "The life span of a French Poodle", and "Fifty percent off all fine jewelry, now until this Friday!" After looking page after page of the search results, he found that there was absolutely nothing about Gamers. "Shit... there's nothing? How can that be...?" Gin walked into the library, seeing Makoto as he was standing from his seat "You were here again, huh? Looking up more news articles?" Gin took the mouse and scrolled a bit at the listings. Being that it was in the later pages, Gin stumbled upon a rather lewd link "... Looking up porn?" Makoto blinked and his cheeks flushed a bright red, snatching the mouse from Gin and clicking the web browser off "I wasn't!" Makoto glared at Gin, Gin finding this situation funny. "Say, Makoto? Instead of looking at others doing it, you could get a girlfriend, with your looks and all. Then, you'd be able to do THIS and THAT any time you want..." Gin whispered, prodding at Makoto's side with his elbow. Makoto blushed even more and stomped off "Y-You're horrible, saying such things... I'm not like you!" Gin laughed out loud, following Makoto "Ha ha ha... hey, wait up!"

Still, this situation wasn't as much as a bad thing as Makoto made it seem. Makoto couldn't help but, smile at such a funny time. Before, he was a total wreck, and had been feeling down all day and night. He wouldn't of thought he'd be able to smile sincerely, unlike the fake smile he held up as a facade. _"Gin, thank you..."_ Makoto thought but, he wouldn't give Gin the chance to hear it from him. Makoto looked back to Gin "Stupid pervert! You will never get a girlfriend so, there!" Gin blinked and growled "Oh yeah? I bet I'll get a girlfriend before you do! I'll so will!" Makoto laughed at Gin's flailing and ranting, as the boys headed for class.

The day seemed to go by fast, ending the school day and Makoto was heading home alone, walking over a bridge that went over a highway, not being so far off from home. Makoto walked calmly, smiling as he thought _"Even with just nine days left to live, if my remaining days were like this one, I wouldn't mind."_ Makoto flinched a bit, seeing a man on a bicycle ride past him rather closely. He watched this man on the bicycle, hoping his uneasiness was for not. However, the man suddenly stopped and turned the bicycle, holding what looked to a garden trimmer tool that seemed to be stained by fresh blood "Enjoying your peaceful walk home... Makoto Maebara?" Makoto flinched and raised his right arm, trying to grasp his cross charm "Wh-who are you... how do you kn-" Makoto's eyes glanced down and a display of horror filled his expression, his face draining to a pale complexion. He glanced down at his right arm, or lack there of, the forearm was completely missing and all was left was a stub of his upper arm, drenched and oozing of blood "A-Ah... AAAAAAAHHHH!" Makoto screamed as he slumped back against a fence, falling to a sit as tears weld up in his eye and holding what's left of his right arm "I-It hurts... it hurts... Ugh!" He squirmed a bit, seeing his blood splatter against the cement floor as he squirmed.

The man was the same guy who was watching Makoto as he walked alongside Gin "Heh heh... yes, that's what I love... hearing little pussies like you scream in agony." The guy glanced over to his other hand, which held Makoto's severed arm "You kind of deserved it, you know. I mean, who the fuck do you think you are? Walking around without a care in the world, smiling away. The kind of world you and I live in now, such a careless attitude is unforgivable. Well, not like it really matters, I was going to kill you whether you were happy or sad. But, since you were happy, this only makes it a lot sweeter!" He dropped the arm to the floor behind him and started to approach Makoto slowly. Makoto watched him and gritted his teeth as he reached for the charm with his left hand "B-Bastard!" The necklace glimmered and formed into the halberd, which Makoto used to help himself up to his feet. The man stopped and stared at Makoto's weapon, which made him laugh out loud "Ha ha ha! Wow, I really did screw you over, didn't I? How do you expect to use that thing with just one arm?" Makoto didn't say a word, putting all his strength into his weaker left arm to lift the staff up. Makoto pinches the pole tightly in between his right arm pit and the stub of his right arm, which caused him to flinch in pain due to the strain on his wound "Ugh... HAAAH!" Dealing with the pain, he held the halberd up and charged forward, running at the man with the sharp blade pointing at this strange man.

The man was a bit surprised by Makoto's sudden attack, thinking for sure that he wasn't going to be able to attack at all. But, the man simply stepped aside, Makoto's back being exposed to him "Not bad, Gamer. But..." Makoto gasped a bit, knowing he can't stop his momentum to counter, feeling the blade of the garden trimmer slash across his back, making him drop the halberd "GAH!" He fell forward onto his face, huffing a bit as he glanced out before him, trying to crawl away. The young man stood over Makoto, laughing a bit "The other Gamers, they would kill you right here and now to retain your remaining time here. Me? I don't care about things like that." Seeing Makoto was moving, he raised his garden trimmers and swung his arms down, the blades sinking deep into Makoto's back. Makoto was about to scream out in pain, only to be muffled by the gushing of blood the erupted from his throat. Makoto laid their and flinched from the rush of pain coursing through his back as the guy pulled his trimmers from Makoto's back. "I have enough time to go hunt for more time so, this? This is my hobby! I'll torture and 'kill' you again and again until all your time has run out!" He knelled down over Makoto, whispering "True, we have regenerative healing that gets us back to health but, when the wounds get more severe, it starts costing you. You were at 'nine', right? Right now, you must be at 'seven'!" The man stepped over closer, he stabbed through the top of Makoto's back. Makoto cried out, glancing down and seeing that the blade pierced through his sternum. "Whoops, almost got your heart there... that wouldn't be fun..." He pulled his trimmer out of Makoto's back, the back of Makoto's shirt no longer resembling a white shirt as it was covered in blood.

He reached down and pulled Makoto from the floor, holding him up against the gated fence and glanced at Makoto's chest. The man blinked and growled in disappointment, seeing that Makoto's tattoo was already down to "one". "Cheh... you are really pathetic!" The man shouted as he raised his leg, kicking Makoto square in the groin. Makoto grunted a bit and crumpled down to his knees and one hand, coughing from the harsh blow to his groin. Makoto's eyes widened, seeing that he opened the trimmer blades, fitting them around his neck. Makoto saw this as his whole body quivered _"Th-this guy... he's going to kill me without a second thought. He actually enjoyed hurting me. Wh-what the hell is wrong with this world?"_ The man laughed maniacally "This is the price for being such a careless idiot... not like you will live to learn the lesson. Farewell, Gamer!" Makoto closed his eyes and tensed, expecting for the blades to slice through his neck. He heard sound of steel slicing through thick meat. Makoto blinked and slowly opened his eyes, finding that he was still kneeling down and that his head was still connecting to his shoulders "... Eh?" Then, he saw some blond piece flop down before him. But, with closer inspection, he gasped, seeing that along with the hair was the top half of the man's head. The man's body teetered backwards, falling flat on it's back. Makoto glanced back and looked to the man's body, seeing the gore that spilled out from the bottom half of his head, which was still connected to the body. Makoto gagged a bit and looked away, his eyes falling upon a young girl with long, black hair and a white school uniform that he couldn't recognize. She stood over Makoto's severed arm, bending down over it and picked it up from the floor. She looked back to Makoto with her right hazel eye, her left being bandaged "Excuse me but, I think this is yours..."

Chapter 3: END


	4. Chapter 4: Eye Opening

Makoto dropped down to all fours and coughed, as pain ran through his body, the stub of his right arm also being aggravated. Makoto's eyes widened, seeing that the young man opened the trimmer blades, fitting them around his neck. Makoto saw this as his whole body quivered _"Th-this guy... he's going to kill me without a second thought. He actually enjoyed hurting me. Wh-what the hell is wrong with this world?"_ The man laughed maniacally "This is the price for being such a careless idiot... not like you will live to learn the lesson. Farewell, Gamer!" Makoto closed his eyes and tensed, expecting for the blades to slice through his neck. He heard sound of steel slicing through thick meat. Makoto blinked and slowly opened his eyes, finding that he was still kneeling down and that his head was still connecting to his shoulders "... Eh?" Then, he saw some blond piece flop down before him. But, with closer inspection, he gasped, seeing that along with the hair was the top half of the man's head. The man's body teetered backwards, falling flat on it's back. Makoto glanced back and looked to the man's body, seeing the gore that spilled out from the bottom half of his head, which was still connected to the body. Makoto gagged a bit and looked away, his eyes falling upon a young girl with long, black hair and a white school uniform that he couldn't recognize. She stood over Makoto's severed arm, bending down over it and picked it up from the floor. She looked back to Makoto with her right hazel eye, her left being bandaged "Excuse me but, I think this is yours..."

Chapter 4: Eye-Opening

Makoto dragged himself to a sit, with the help of his left arm since his right has been taken away by the sharp blade of the trimmers. He pulls his halberd up and pointed the blade at the young girl who held his arm. The girl blinked, looking at the blade and back at him "Hey, I was trying to help you and this is how you repay me?" Makoto glared at the girl, his expression unchanged "... Who are you? And how do you expect me to trust you when you just killed this guy?" The girl stared at him "... What does it matter? He was going to kill you, wasn't he?" Makoto gritted his teeth "Th-that's not the point! How will I know you won't be killing me next? Since you didn't seem to have that much of a hard time to kill him!" She looked Makoto in the eyes and giggled "... I was right, you are quite different from the others. This truly proves my assumption. A guy like him, won't listen to reason. He didn't have to kill you but, he wanted to kill you for the fun of it." She reached her arm out "You, however, that look in your eyes isn't that of a murderer, it's that of someone who's lost... and unsure of what to make of this crazy world." She stepped past the halberd, kneeling down in front of him "A boy who wouldn't kill and wished things would end differently. I wouldn't kill a boy who's like that. Here."

Makoto held the halberd back to his chest, it's form changing back to it's necklace form. He looked at his arm, which she held out to him. He looked away and sighed "... What good is that to me? It was cut off, wasn't it?" The girl sighed "You truly don't know anything? Fine, just this once..." She rotated his arm, pressing the cut ends of it together and held it as straight as she can. Makoto flinched in pain, the wound being bothered by this "Ugh! W-what are you?" Makoto gasped and looked down at his severed arm, seeing that the arm muscle and skin were joining once again. Makoto blinked as he started to feel the nerves of his fingers and forearm registering in his mind. The girl stood back, seeing Makoto moving his once severed arm, seeing it was functioning like it had never been cut off. "W-what did you?" Makoto question, looking up to her. She smiled and shook her head "I did nothing. You have your regeneration abilities to thank, of which all Gamers have. As long as your limb isn't completely destroyed, you simply have to hold your limb to it's proper position and it will heal on it's own." Makoto blinked a bit, looking back down at his right arm, clinching his fist "... Incredible..." Makoto blinked and looked to the corpse of the man who attacked him "... What are we going to do about him? We can't just leave his body there." The girl looked to the body "Hmm... that's right. I'll leave that up to you. Touch the tattoo on his chest and you will not only receive his time, his body will do the hiding for you." Makoto blinked a bit and stared up at her "I-I can't... didn't you kill him? You should take it."

The girl sighed and pulled a small compact from her bag, moving over to Makoto, squatting before him "You are quite the gentleman but, as you'll see, this is no time for Chivalry." She opened her compact, the mirror opening up in front of Makoto. Makoto glanced at the reflection and jumped "W-what?" He glanced at the number on his chest, seeing it was no longer a "nine" and had been trimmed down to a "one". "I-It can't be... I-I had nine days left..." Makoto's whole body shivered as he stared at the reflection. She frowned a bit, closing the compact and looked to Makoto "Regeneration isn't as perfect, however. There are some wounds that a human being shouldn't live from. The regeneration makes it possible to survive but, it comes with a price. Life-ending wounds like that drain time from your lifespan to heal, so it is best that you keep from getting such wounds. I don't think I need to explain what happens when your number reaches 'zero', right? So, I suggest you don't take my offer lightly." Makoto looked to her and nodded, his eyes looking back to the man's body. He stood himself up to his feet and slowly approached, blinking a bit and looking away from the gory mess that was once a part of this man's head "... P-Please excuse me..." Makoto reached forward, pulling a bit at the blood stained collar of the man's shirt, looking down at the tattoo. The tattoo said "fifty-two", Makoto gulped a bit as he reached forward, placing his finger tips down onto the tattoo. Makoto blinked, seeing the tattoo on the man's chest scroll down. He glanced down at his own chest, noticing his number was scrolling as well. Makoto saw the scrolling stop, the number on his chest now reading "fifty-three". He glanced up, seeing the man's chest reading "zero".

To Makoto's surprise, the man's body started to rapidly decompose into dust, like it had been burnt in a furnace. Makoto stumbled back from the body, seeing the wind carry the dust along with it and spread about in different ways. Makoto glanced over and blinked, even the piece of the man's head became nothing but, dust. The girl smiled, holding her arms up as the wind swept over her and her white school uniform "From dust, to dust. Something that used to exist, disappearing into the whimsical wind." Makoto blinked, a shiver running up his spine "D-Disappear... was it really alright for me to take his remaining time like that?" he questioned, looking at his own chest, which now had the number "fifty-three". The girl reached out to Makoto's, shaking her head "He didn't think about that with the victims he's had before you. Don't feel bad about him. Instead, live on for those people that he killed. You second guessing yourself like this is an insult to those who died. Just live on, knowing the people's time on your chest have been justified." She removed her hand from his shoulder and smiled, placing her arms behind her back "Say, despite knowing the dangers, why do you keep living like you lived before?" Makoto heard her question, standing himself up from the floor, dusting himself off "I don't know really... it's just something I've done for all this time. It's something that I've known to do. As unsure as I am now, I guess I'm just clinging to the things that I am familiar with. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would skip out of school to do whatever they want but, I can't seem to do that." Makoto walked over to the gated fence, grabbing at it "I feel like I will lose sight of myself if I don't... it reminds me of being human."

The girl smiled a bit at his answer "I see. Well, keep at it. I'm sure everything will be alright." Makoto blinked and turned around, seeing the girl was heading the opposite way Makoto was heading "Wait! Please wait... I have some things to ask you." The girl stopped and turned to Makoto "My, my... sorry but, I won't answer any questions about my sizes, okay?" Makoto sighed and shook his head "... That's not it... first off, can you please tell me your name? I-I'm Makoto Maebara. Secondly... what exactly is a Gamer? Please... I want to know..." The girl said nothing, suddenly opening her backpack and pulling out a note book, writing something down on a fresh piece of paper "There is this website here that'll fill you in much better than I can. But, be wary, what you find on there WILL surprise you." She ripped the paper out of her notebook, handing it over to him. Makoto took the piece of paper and looked at what she wrote. The link wasn't like a normal website address, consisting of numbers that are separated by dots "... an IP address? I guess that will explain why a search engine couldn't find it..." Putting the paper into his pocket after folding it twice, he blinked, seeing the girl's hand held out in front of him "I know your name, Makoto Maebara. I'm Alice Windfield, nice to meet you." She smiled cutely at him, which made Makoto blush "S-So cute... Wait, you said you knew my name already? How?" Alice turned away from Makoto and headed away, not without saying "Just check out that website I gave you. You will have all of your questions answered. Take care, Makoto Maebara." Makoto watched her leave for a moment, causing him to tilt his head as he repeated her name in his lips "... Alice Windfield? Where have I heard that name before...?" Makoto shrugged and headed his way home.

A few hours pass, turning from afternoon to evening, Makoto was sitting at the dinner table with his sister and mother. Being he was at home, he was out of his school uniform and in a comfortable t-shirt and black sweat shorts but, the necklace was still. Makoto placed his fork down and nodded to his mother "Thank you for dinner, mom." Makoto stood up from the table and picked up his dishes, heading for the kitchen. His mom and sister looked to each other as Makoto was fixing the plates in the dish-washing machine. As Makoto headed back into the dining room, his mom looked to him "Makoto? Is everything okay with school?" Makoto looked to his mom and nodded "Yeah, everything is okay. Why do you ask?" His mom shook her head and smiled "Oh, I don't know. Just that, lately you look as though you have a lot of weight on your shoulders. If you need to talk about anything, you know you can talk to me about it. I mean, that is what mothers are for, right?" Makoto smiled and nodded "Thank you, mom. I will keep that in mind. Anyway, I still have some homework to finish up, I'll be in my room." Makoto turned and headed up the stairs, sighing a bit as he thought _"Sorry, mom. This is one thing I can't really consult you with..."_ Upon entering his room, he closed the door behind him. He walked over to his laptop, which sat on a small desk. Sitting in the chair in front of it, he flipped the laptop open and turned it on.

Makoto reached into his pocket, pulling out the piece of notebook paper out and opened it, looking down at the numbers. He opened the web browser and typed in the number onto the web browser. "... Here goes." Makoto muttered to himself as he hit "Enter". Suddenly, the screen turned black, save for the prompt that stated "Please insert your name and date of birth. Month/Day/Year Format." Makoto blinked a bit "... Eh? Fine then..." Makoto inputted that information and saw a "submit" button appear as soon as he was done. Makoto moved the mouse pointer over it and clicked on it. The whole screen turned back, with the words scrolling onto the screen "Welcome, Makoto Maebara." The web browser flickered a bit as information filled up the screen. "W-What is this?" Makoto gasped, staring at the screen, seeing that all of this information was of him. They had an image that was taken of him in High School, and information including from where he lived to what kind of video games he enjoyed. "H-How can this be? I didn't sign up for this website? How did they get my information?" Makoto bit his lip a bit, seeing that above his personal information was other tabs. The tabs were labeled with "Gamer Information", "Status Points/Special Abilities", "BBS", and "Sign Out". Makoto moved the mouse pointer over "BBS" and clicked on it.

Makoto's eyes widen as he saw some of the titles of the posts that were made on the BBS. One thread he opened, he saw the anonymous posts saying _"I killed this girl yesterday, I think her name was Mikuru. She truly was a lovely piece of hot ass... I got a bit too excited over her screams of agony. \(^w^)/"_ A replying post stated_ "Yes, yes! That's truly to the best way to kill a goddess, nice and slow... Pig-ugly women should be slaughtered like pigs! :-D" _Another post saying _"Looking for a partner to newbie-hunt! Any takers?"_,a reply saying _"I wouldn't even trust a Gamer I knew personally so, why would I trust a Gamer over the net? (-_-;)"_ Makoto felt a chill run up his spine "... B-Bastards, treating this like it's some game..." Makoto blinked, seeing a new post was loaded up, saying "Is the Sadistic Trimmer dead?" Makoto clicked on it and read the posts _"So, I was bored and started searching bios, I was looking up that sadistic bastard with the trimmers and his profile isn't coming up. Wasn't he going after some newbie named Makoto Maebara?", "No way! O_O He's dead? Wait, let me check just to make sure. EDIT: Wow, his profile really is gone. Did that newbie kill him? Unbelievable.", "Makoto Maebara, huh? To the naked eye, he looks like a total wimp who wouldn't survive a week. Looks can be deceiving, right? XD Hm... it makes me want to kill that guy before he thinks he's all hard.", "Me, too! Me, too! Handsome boys like him piss me off! Off with his head! XDDDD"_. Makoto quickly got out from the thread, not wanting to read anymore "Th-this is... sickening. All of these posts are nothing but, people boasting about their murders and expressing their desire to kill..."

He was about to leave the BBS but, Makoto stopped and noticed one thread that read "So, what happens if you decided not to pick up the jewelry?" Makoto clicked on it and read the messages to himself _"So, yeah, I kinda still green on the subject. . So, what would of happened if I decided not to pick this jewelry off of the floor? It's been bugging me for a while now.", "From what I heard, people who don't pick it up suddenly feel deeply hopeless and end up committing suicide.", "I've read somewhere that, once you lay your eyes on the jewelry, your soul had already been devoured. A body without a soul could affect it negatively, leading to suicide. That's why these contracts with whoever is so important to us. We live under contract with whoever it is that's causing these things to happen, keeping us from losing all of our hope. Our personalities are intact, too. ^_^". _Makoto gasped a bit, reaching for his chest "... My soul... is gone?" Makoto's hand clasped at his shirt, his head leaning against the table, feeling tears flow down his eyes "Wh-what the hell kind of sick joke is this? Do you really expect me to accept this, assholes? I was screwed from the beginning... trapped in this violent world or end up killing myself. Truly unfair..." Makoto stared at his laptop, shaking his head and closing the laptop, unwilling to see anymore.

Chapter 4: END


End file.
